Siege of Pingyi

The Siege of Pingyi occurred in 190 AD when the army of Liu Bei besieged the Yellow Turban-held iron mine at Pingyi in Dong Commandery. Liu Bei captured the mine after defeating the small Yellow Turban garrison, finally acquiring a power base.

Background
After the Battle of Hulao Pass in 190 AD, Liu Bei and his sworn brothers Guan Yu and Zhang Fei were forced to wander the land with a small army of peasants supportive of Liu Bei's benevolent ideals. Liu Bei and his army marched into Dong Commandery in Yan Province and defeated a Yellow Turban army under Zhao Bo in the Battle of Wenshang, and, seeking a base from which he could expand, Liu Bei decided to attack the iron mines of Dong Commandery at Pingyi.

Battle
Liu Bei divided his army into halves, ordering a cavalry force to break through the weak Yellow Turban right flank and attack their archers from the side as he and his sworn brothers launched a frontal assault on the primary Yellow Turban force guarding the main pass into the iron mine. The battle plan worked very well; the cavalry force broke through the thin Yellow Turban ranks guarding the secondary pass through the plateau, and it then charged and slaughtered the hapless Yellow Turban archers. Liu Bei then sent his main force to charge into the main Yellow Turban body, engaging them in melee and overwhelming them as the cavalry force charged them from behind. The Yellow Turban army was completely destroyed, with 116 of them surviving to surrender to Liu Bei and his army.

Aftermath
The capture of the Dong iron mine gave Liu Bei his first slice of territory in northeastern China, and he used his new base to expand outwards and defeat the Yellow Turban forces threatening the regional warlords. He would soon establish himself as a powerful warlord famed for his many victories against bandits.